Why Hello There, Little, Old, Me.....

Welcome to Challenge 34 over at Blog This!. The challenge topic this time is:
If you met your younger self - What would you tell yourself? Would you give advice? What advice would that be? Ask about your perception of the world? Give us an idea of who you think you were or who you think you'll be in the future...

( Note, i have done a post similar in topic to this back in 2007, but in the past two years i've learnt so much more! So this challenge post is a completely new and different post to the old one.... )

If i were able to travel back in time, Marty McFly style, and have a bit of a deep and meaningful with my younger self, i think there would have to be three key bits of advice i'd have to impart to teenage me:
Number one: DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR NEGATIVE SELF-VOICE. Seriously, thats in capital letters for a reason, 'cause its pretty damn important. You miss out on so much fun and adventure because you listen so attentively to your worst critic - you. Thats right, its nobody else saying it but you. Its entirely in your head, and in your head is where you'll be spending most of your formative years if you dont tell your inner critic to back the fork off, okay? Turn it off, tune it out and instead of backing out of things when they get a little scary, run into them head first and see which parts hit and which parts glance right off without so much as a scratch.

Number two: Save more money.  How very pedestrian of me to advise you, but yea - save more money. You start working at the age of 14 which means you've literally earned hundreds of thousands of dollars, but now at 26 its nowhere to be found. I'm not saying you have to turn all Scrooge on me and not spend a single cent - i'm just saying maybe dont waste so much of it on crap. CD's are great and all ( although you could have done without East 17's " Walthamstow " or Ricky Martins self titled release... ) and its great having a different top to wear for every day of the month, but all that money frittered away on junk could have had you paying off more of your house or got you overseas sooner, and more often. Future-You loves to travel, but you wont get to do all that much of it ( a year sent living overseas and one short trip to SE Asia ) before your first child arrives because Young-You didnt save, save, save!

Lastly, Number three: Pay more attention at your Year 12 formal. Particularly to a young man that comes as a guest of one of your classmates. His name is Mick and you will meet him 8 years into the future, fall madly in love, get engaged and have a gorgeous baby boy. When you meet, you have no idea you were both at that same function all those years ago, and find it amusing that the universe sees fit to bring you back together after that first faint brush with fate. If you had both only known, you could have been together so much sooner, and both of your lives would have been completely different!
Also, rethink the velvet dress- right cut, right colour, wroooooooong fabric.......

Thinking Happy, Week 5

Time again for " Operation Think Happy ", as brought to you by Holly over at Good Golly Miss Holly! In no particular order:

1. Winnie the Pooh - Flynn is just starting to take an interest in toys and this week he's really started to pay attention to a small Winnie the Pooh comforter he was given. Mick and i wave it in front of his face and talk to him as Winnie and he's started to smile and giggle at it. Smiles and giggles make me happy!

2. Hot cross buns - so Easter is still a month away, i dont care. Fresh, warm, hot cross buns with sultanas in them are the bomb!

3. Bloggy love - I got me some bloggy love from DaughterOfTheStars this week. She bestowed the 'Sunshine Award " on me and directed her lovely readers to my page. Thanks much! She also described my son as gorgeous, so extra happiness points for that!

4. My beautiful fiance - he's done so mcuh work around the house today, and i've done nothing but feed the baby, read the sunday papers and take a nap on the lounge. I just really appreciate him. Aww....

5. Engagement party stuff - again. We've settled on a date - April 3rd, which is Easter Saturday. Party time!

6. Operation Sleep - its starting to work! 3 days in a row Flynn has settled down to a 2 hr nap in the middle of the day. His efforts, even though it must be hard for him being put into a new routine, have really made me happy. Tonight ? He's moving into his own room for night time sleep!

7. Knowing my weight - yep, i finally weighed myself for the first time after giving birth. And i have to say, the results werent too bad. In fact, i'm only 3 and half kilos heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight, and i'm happy with that. Still, am i going to tell you the actual number ? Uh...no.

Operation ' Get My Child To Sleep Longer So I Can Stop Being A Dairy Cow ' Begins....Now!

Perhaps i should just refer to it as Operation Sleep for the sake of not having to type all that over and over. Either way I'm on a mission to get Flynn to nap for a longer period during the day, so that i can have my boobs to myself for a little longer and i can get some stuff done around the house on a regular basis. Dont get me wrong: Flynn is not a 'problem' baby. He doesnt do a great deal of this:

So its not like i have a problem with him howling all day long. However, i need him to do is more of this:

Thats right - he needs sleep more during the day. We dont have a problem at night ( thank gawd! ) but during the day we've had a little bit of issue. What kind of issue? Well, even though i'm well aware that our 'schedule' is inside the bounds of normal, i've started to become a little weary of breastfeeding my son every two hours. So, for example, we might start a feed at 8am, have a little play and then be put down to sleep by 9am. If i'm lucky he will sleep between 20-40 mins, and then he's ready for another feed by 10am. As i said, this kind of feeding schedule is considered to be normal, so thats not the issue - what is the issue is that its exhausting. I've been eating more than i normally would, just to keep up the calories to have enough energy to produce and supply the milk, not to mention its just demanding on a mum to have so little time to herself to have a shower, or eat lunch, or get any household chores done.

So - i got a hold of a counsellor from the Australian Breastfeeding Association  ( can i just say how awesome the ABA is, what with having counsellors and a forum for mums to discuss stuff and weekly meetings in some areas? ) and she was really helpful - she's given me a few ideas of how to lengthen out our little feed schedule and to help me to get him to sleep for a longer period. I'm also taking this opportunity, while i'm already implementing some change, to move Flynn out of his bassinette in our room and into his cot in his own bedroom. So big changes afoot!

We've started today and so far its gone pretty well. Its feed, play , wrap and then a quick pat and cuddle before i put him into bed. If he cries i leave him for 10 minutes before i lift him out, give him another cuddle and put him back. He's managed, after two cry/cuddles to sleep for a total of 2 hrs, twice, already today. So, cross your fingers for me for the rest of the weekend!

I Wanna Be Like Mike...Umm, I Mean Martha

And by Martha, i mean Martha Stewart. See, since becoming a first-time, stay at home mum ( SAHM ) i've been watching a fair bit of day time tv. I've kept up with Dr Phil, Oprah, Ellen and the girls from the view, but i've also found a new found love for 'The Martha Stewart Show' and for the Australian version of 'Ready!Steady!Cook!' I've been drooling madly over all the delicious food they cook on these shows and then it gets to dinner time and i'm inspired to make something just awesome for Mick and myself - only i dont have the pantry stocked with fancy ingredients that Martha has. I dont do too badly - its not like i dish up the boring old meat-and-two-veg - but i cant just whip up some gorgeous fancy meal without some degree of preparation.

So as of grocery shopping this week i'm inspired to stock my cupboards and fridge with some cooking show basics: filo pastry, rock salt, bread crumbs, frozen berries, tumeric, paprika, soba noodles. You know, things like that. I mean, i already have mixed dried herbs, plain salt and 2 minute noodles, but they just dont cut it. If i have all that stuff then i can just pop on my favourite recipe website, www.taste.com.au, and find myself a meal to impress my fiance with every night, without having to drag poor Flynn to the supermarket when i only need to buy one or two items.

So tonight, bearing in mind that i dont yet have my fancy pantry set up, we'll be having barbecued lamb steaks topped with avocado and melted feta, accompanied by my mixed tzatziki salad concotion - cubed cucumber, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach covered in tzatziki dressing. Y-u-mmmmmmm......

Welcome to the 'New' .....

Whats this? Where are you? Who am i? whats with the questions Amy?
Well, in case you havent noticed, i've changed my blog name. Thats right, take a look up there on the header - " Insomniatic Musings " is gone and has been replaced with " New Adventures in Dreamworld ". Huh?

Well, to be truthful, i just wasnt feeling the whole " Insomniatic Musings " thing anymore. It hasnt matched 'me' or my blog for a while - i started this blog in the midst of depression, when i wasnt getting much sleep, and i was using the blog as a tool to get all those things that kept me awake at night off my chest. With the depression gone and the sleep ( somewhat ) returned, the name just didnt feel relative anymore. I wanted to find something new, something that better reflected whats happening with me now and what could be happening in the future. So, after a little thought, i've gone with:

" New Adventures in Dreamworld ".

The ' New Adventures " part is pretty self explanatory. Why the " Dreamworld " bit? Well not to sound too schmaltzy, but thats where i'm living now - in the world i'd always dreamed of when sleep did eventually come to me. I have a beautiful man who i'm in love with and who loves me back; a gorgeous son; my wonderful family and friends; and a whole bunch of positivity to move forward with. I dont just see light at the end of a tunnel - i generate the light and its a damned beautiful glow!

So welcome to my ' Dreamworld '. Oh, and if you arent already following me, go press that button over to your left and become an official follower!

Thinking Happy, Week 4

Hello again, and welcome to week 4 of Holly's " Operation Think Happy "! Just a reminder that this involves listing 7 things that have made you happy this week. Focus on the positives people!

1. The moment, #1 - I was in the middle of getting dinner ready last night when Flynn decided he wanted to have a grizzle, so Mick scooped him up and took him outside. After a few minutes i go to the door and out in our driveway, there they are - Mick lokking down at this little wrapped up bundle in his arms, chatting to him about God knows what. I just stood at the door, unseen and smiling.

2. The moment, #2 - A few hours later, i've finished feeding Flynn and he's lying back, all milk drunk.... but not taking his eyes off his daddy. Its like, even at 8 weeks old, Daddy is his hero. Too, too sweet.

3. Planning an engagement party - finally! We've been engaged since October but havent even thought about an engagement party yet. Its not going to be anything fancy, just a big bbq at my parents house, with family and friends.

4. Chocolate truffle balls - I stole this very simple recipe from Welfare Wisdom and completely loved it! Basically get a packet of your favourite biscuits ( like Caramel Tim Tams for me, or it could be Oreos, Mint Slice etc ), blend them into crumbs, mix with cream cheese, chill, roll into balls and then cover with melted chocolate. Yummmmm.....

5. Cucumbers - or, more specifically, cucumbers from our vegetable garden. I dont know how my farmer fiance does it but they're big, green and fresh...oh, and free!

6. Mothers group - This was the fourth week of meeting up with my mothers group ( a group of first time mums - our babies range in age from 8 to 16 weeks ) but its the first i've actually ' clicked with ' some of the other mums. I'm a little shy and it takes me a while to warm up to strangers, so it was nice to be able to have a little chat and not feel too self-concious about it this week.

7. Hitting the 8 week mark - that is, my son is now 8 weeks old and i havent broken him yet! He's also gone up a size in the clothing for the first time, so that was a nice little milestone to hit...

A Recap, Valentines Style

So i promised that i would make a quick recap post of what happened on my Valentines Day. To be quite honest, there isnt anything overly exciting to recap - thats not to say that i didnt enjoy the day, only that there was nothing incredibly adventurous or parade-worthy to make note of.

Mick and I exchanged gifts at 6am when Flynn woke for a feed. I had bought him a dog tag style pendant to go on a chain he already owns, and had it engraved - " With Love, Amy. 14.02.10 ". I know, i'm too sweet. What did Mick get me ?

This gorgeous little charm to go on the Pandora bracelet that he had bought for my birthday. Pretty, right ? And what was also lovely was that he told me it wasnt a charm - he was giving me a piece of his heart. Awwwwww.....

I made pancakes with banana and honey for breakfast; we took turns reading the Sunday papers while i fed the baby; we just lolled around the house and took it easy until mid afternoon, when it came time for me to start gettng ready for dinner. I specify " me " because i had to spread the whole " getting ready " thing out over an hour or two: i had to shower, shave my legs,blow dry and straighten my hair and do my makeup. Which is not too bad except that i had to have a half hour break somewhere in there to breastfeed Flynn, before he got too cranky at Daddy for not having any boobies. But i got prettified ( unfortunately we werent clever enough to take any photos ) and i must say it felt great to get all dolled up again without having to contend with a huge belly.

We dropped Flynn off at my parents place and Mick and I had a nice dinner at a semi-fancy resturant. I got the chicken, stuffed with cheese and bacon, wrapped in filo pastry; he had the nutcrusted barramundi; and we both indulged in dessert. We werent out long - Mick, especially, missed his " little mate " - but it was nice to have an hour and half to be a couple again, not just " parents ".

I know its kind of late, but i hope the rest of you had a great Valentines Day, whether you were coupled up for the day or not!